BY KAREN BOSSICK

Donations applied to a matching gift challenge through August will help The Hunger Coalition meet its continued record demand.

A donor has offered to match donations given through the remainder of August dollar for dollar up to $50,000.

Currently, The Hunger Coalition has raised $32,369 of the $50,000.

The Hunger Coalition continues to see record demand for its services.

In April the organization hit an all-time high number of families accessing food from the food pantry—nearly 800 people shopped The Hunger Coalition’s grocery aisle that month.

More children than ever are chasing down the Bloom Truck for free food and library books. And more people are harvesting homegrown carrots, beets and greens in Bloom Farm’s Volunteer for Veggies program.

“The nature of our local economy continues to stifle working people,” said Kristin McMahon, communications and development supervisor for The Hunger Coalition. “We have the eighth highest food costs in the nation, the ninth greatest wealth inequality and wages that have actually dropped in the last 10 years when adjusted for inflation. Until we address these community ills, the demands for our services will persist.”

That said, she added, it’s encouraging to see the Bloom programs, such as Volunteering for Veggies,  gain momentum in their third year as more people discover them.

“Bloom Truck, in fact, has had such a remarkable turnout this summer it’s being dubbed the Super Bloom,” McMahon said.

But the only way those programs will continue is through community generosity, she added.

Donations can be made on The Hunger Coalition’s website at https://thehungercoalition.org/act/donate/ Or, checks can be mailed to 121 Honeysuckle St., Bellevue, ID 83313.